Freeskates consist of two separate metal or wooden plates with two wheels attached at an angle. People call it freeskating, freeline skating, or drift skating.[1][2][3][4]
They were developed in 2003 in San Francisco by Ryan Farrelly.[5] Farrelly founded a company called Freeline that has since gone out of business. Freeskating is practiced around the world. In 2015, former members of the original brand (Freeline) came together to create JMKRIDE. Based in San Diego, California JMKRIDE aimed to revive the sport they loved so much. The sport was rebranded to be called "freeskating" to reach worldwide riders. [6][7][8]
The Freeskates rider is positioned sideways and move their feet back-and-forth in a motion called pumping to accelerate.
Pumping acceleration is enhanced by swinging of arms and hips, providing a counterweight to push the skates.
To move forward, the two feet move in a sinusoidal motion with slightly different phase.
To turn left or right, the rider would part the feet of their toes outwards or inwards, creating an arc for the skates to turn.
Similar to skateboarding, the stance of the rider can be "Standard" or "Goofy", which describes which foot is at the front or back in the direction of travel
.
Eg. Standard would have the left foot on the forward skate and the right foot back skate. And the reverse for goofy - it is common to see a skilled rider switch foots, this allows more advanced tricks to be performed.
Side view of the Freeline Skates
Freeskaters resting in Seoul.
